NSW govt not soft on crime: Smith

NSW Attorney-General Greg Smith denies the government is going soft on criminals, saying a sentencing review won't affect the way serious offenders are treated.

The state opposition is calling on the government to abandon the Law Reform Commission review and its push for more non-custodial sentences, saying it sends the wrong message to the people behind a spate of Sydney drive-by shootings.

Mr Smith last year charged the commission with investigating alternatives to incarceration for minor offences, to break the high rate of reoffending in NSW.

However, opposition police spokesman Nathan Rees suggested the review could lead to softer sentences for gun crimes - like the recent drive-by attacks in western Sydney.

"This is entirely the wrong time for this government to be suggesting that sentences be softened," Mr Rees said.

"It demonstrates a complete out-of-touch approach to this serious issue."

Mr Smith said he wasn't referring to dangerous, violent offenders.

"I'm not talking about the (people) who go around shooting up houses and those murderous bastards - I want to throw them into jail and throw away the key," Mr Smith told Macquarie Radio on Monday.

"There is a lot of younger offenders who commit less serious offences, and the worst thing that can happen to them is to be put in jail.

"It's better to deal with them outside the prison system, because jail is a university of crime, and it is even worse in the juvenile detention centres."

Asked if he thought the review would actually lead to softer sentences for gun crimes, Mr Rees replied: "Given Mr Smith's repeated assertions that there are too many people in jail, it is clear that he would entertain it."

The debate came as the NSW Greens on Monday announced they would introduce legislation to reduce gun numbers in NSW by limiting registered holders to a maximum of three firearms.

The number of permits issued in NSW to acquire new weapons has almost doubled in five years, from 65,997 in 2005/06 to 111,792 in 2009/10.

There had also been a 60 per cent jump in the number of stolen guns, Greens MP David Shoebridge said.

"It is simply wrong that individuals can accumulate an unlimited number of deadly weapons with next to no scrutiny," Mr Shoebridge said.

"Some registered gun owners clearly own an excessive number of firearms, and their private arsenals are targets for organised crime.

"Less guns in society mean less opportunities for gun crime."

A spokesman for Police Minister Mike Gallacher would not comment on the Greens proposal but said the government would consider any legislation brought before the parliament.